Pyongyang behind Kim Jong-nam’s murder: Seoul

Seoul, Feb 27 (IANS) South Korea’s spy agency said on Monday that the North Korean government was behind the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, adding that those involved worked for the country’s foreign ministry and spy body.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said four of the eight suspects behind the murder worked for Pyongyang’s Ministry of State Security, with two others being from the foreign ministry, Yonhap reported.

The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was killed earlier this month after a suspected poisoning while on his way to catch a flight to Macau from the Kuala Lumpur Airport. Malaysia said an autopsy showed he was poisoned with VX nerve agent and died within 20 minutes.

However, North Korea has not acknowledged the death yet.

The South Korean spy agency also provided lawmakers with various updates on developments taking place in Pyongyang.

The NIS said North Korea is prepared to conduct nuclear tests anytime. It said the No.2 tunnel at the North’s nuclear test site in Punggye-ri was maintained throughout the winter, and that the No.3 tunnel can be used to conduct a nuke test if the country’s leadership gives the order.

North Korea is also presumed to have produced 10 kg of plutonium at its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, and its reprocessing is expected to improve by the end of this year, it added.